Duan Xianxing saw that familiar, slightly mischievous smile on Li Nanzhu's face and couldn't help but shiver. Alarm bells rang in his heart.
"Junior... Junior Sister, what are you trying to do?" He subconsciously took a half-step back, feeling that this smile was far too familiar—and usually meant he was about to suffer.
Li Nanzhu leaned in with a beaming smile, sizing Duan Xianxing up. Her gaze lingered on his legs for a few seconds. "Senior Brother Seven, I remember... your movement technique and speed are top-tier in our sect, right?"
At the mention of this, Duan Xianxing immediately straightened his back, a hint of pride appearing on his face. "Naturally! I'm not boasting, but among cultivators of the same rank, there are few who can catch up to your Senior Brother Seven!"
This speed was the result of the blood, sweat, and tears from being inhumanely trained by several senior brothers and sisters back in the day.
"Ordinary cultivators can't even touch the corner of my clothes!"
"Mhm, very good." The smile on Li Nanzhu's face grew even more brilliant. At some point, a bright yellow talisman had appeared in her hand, the spiritual runes drawn in cinnabar glowing faintly. "Then I can rest easy."
"Rest easy? About what..." Before Duan Xianxing could finish his question, Li Nanzhu's wrist flicked. The acceleration talisman slapped onto the center of his back with a crisp sound.
The talisman activated instantly. A powerful force of wind spiritual energy flooded into his four limbs and bones, making his body feel suddenly light.
Then, before Duan Xianxing could fully adapt to this power or even react to the purpose of this sudden buff, Li Nanzhu very skillfully sidestepped, raised her leg, and exerted force—the movements were as smooth as flowing water, as if practiced countless times.
"Off you go!"
"Waahhh—Junior Sister, what are you doing?!!"
Duan Xianxing felt a massive force come from his backside. He was uncontrollably swept forward, hurtling ahead so fast that he left a faint afterimage and a trail of startled cries behind him.
By the time he managed to stabilize himself, he found himself standing right in front of the dozing iron-armored rhino.
Disturbed by this sudden delivery, the iron-armored rhino's massive eyelids slowly lifted, revealing giant eyes that instantly filled with rage.
It clearly didn't understand how this tiny two-legged beast had suddenly appeared before its eyes, but without a doubt, this was a provocation!
Duan Xianxing: "!"
The iron-armored rhino: "...?"
Man and beast stared at each other. The atmosphere fell into an extremely brief, deathly silence.
The next second—
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
Duan Xianxing let out a high-pitched shriek. Without a second thought, he turned and bolted!
The power of the acceleration talisman was pushed to its limit by his survival instinct. The iron-armored rhino was completely enraged by the scream and let out a deafening roar. Its four limbs churned like a moving mountain as it thundered after Duan Xianxing.
Standing where she was, Li Nanzhu watched Senior Brother Seven's pathetic yet incredibly fast fleeing figure and the demonic beast in hot pursuit. She felt a sense of deja vu.
During the trial in the Flowing Cloud Secret Realm, it seemed the eldest senior brother had also kicked Senior Brother Seven out like this to attract fire.
"Yes, indeed, effective methods are always passed down through generations." Li Nanzhu stroked her chin, nodding without a shred of guilt. "Senior Brother Seven, the capable should do more work."
Seeing that Duan Xianxing was about to lose the iron-armored rhino with his speed and that the beast was considering giving up the chase, Li Nanzhu immediately sent a message via her divine sense.
"Senior Brother Seven! Don't just run blindly! Lead it in circles! Don't let it go back!"
Duan Xianxing, who was running for his life, nearly stumbled and fell when he heard the transmission.
He instantly understood Li Nanzhu's sinister intentions—she wanted him to be the bait to keep the iron-armored rhino's attention so it wouldn't have time for anything else, creating an opportunity for her to seize the flag!
"Junior Sister, you're setting me up!"
Internally, Duan Xianxing was in tears, but he didn't dare stop for a moment. Knowing the importance of the task, he could only pull a long face and resign himself to the execution.
The blue figure suddenly made a sharp turn, drawing a huge arc and circling back toward the iron-armored rhino's nest.
To ensure he kept the aggro steady, Duan Xianxing even started making faces and wiggling his butt while running. From time to time, he picked up small stones from the ground, infused them with a trace of spiritual energy, and tossed them at the big fellow's hard skull.
"Come on, come on! Big guy! Come and catch me! Bleeeh~"
Thwack! A small stone hit the iron-armored rhino's eyelid. It didn't hurt, but the insult was profound.
"Roar!!!"
The iron-armored rhino's fury was completely ignited. Its eyes turned blood-red as it fixed its gaze on the hopping, exceptionally agile blue flea, chasing even harder.
Seeing this, Li Nanzhu knew the time had come. Using the mist and terrain for cover, she noiselessly and rapidly approached the flag planted next to the iron-armored rhino's nest from another direction.
Li Nanzhu soon sneaked near the nest. Without hesitation, she reached out to pull the flag.
However, just as her fingertips were about to touch the flagpole, a sudden change occurred!
The ground around the flag suddenly loosened. Several strange insects covered in hard shells burst out, their mouthparts snapping as they launched an attack at Li Nanzhu.
"There's a guardian swarm too?!" Li Nanzhu was startled, but her reaction was swift.
A flash of sword light appeared as the Fellow Daoist sword was gripped in her hand, dancing into an airtight sword curtain.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of dense, crisp sounds rang out. The insects' lunges were all blocked by the sword curtain. Some were even severed by the sword qi, falling to the ground and writhing.
But the commotion here immediately caught the attention of the iron-armored rhino not far away. It jerked around toward the nest, a trace of doubt flashing in its red eyes. Its pursuit slowed for a moment.
Duan Xianxing saw that things were about to go south. Ignoring the danger, he skidded to a halt and pulled out a handful of candied fruits—usually used to feed Suisui—from his storage bag. He infused them with spiritual energy and hurled them at the iron-armored rhino's head.
"Hey, dummy! Look here! Have some candy!"
Pop! Pop! Pop!
A series of small but sharp explosions went off in the iron-armored rhino's face. Though it still didn't break through its defense, it successfully drew its attention back to Duan Xianxing.
"Roar!!!" The iron-armored rhino was utterly enraged. It no longer cared about the small disturbance at the nest. Locking onto Duan Xianxing, it charged head-on.
Li Nanzhu seized this precious gap. Her sword stance changed as she quickly cut down the remaining guardian insects.
She didn't dare delay any longer, grabbing the flag and turning to run. At the same time, she sent a rapid transmission to Duan Xianxing: "Senior Brother Seven! The flag is in hand! Retreat!"
Upon hearing this, Duan Xianxing felt as if he'd been granted a grand pardon. He nearly wept with joy. He pushed the remaining power of the spirit-traveling acceleration talisman to the absolute limit, turned, and bolted toward the agreed meeting point in a streak of light.
The iron-armored rhino chased for a few steps before realizing the aura of the flag at the nest had suddenly vanished, and that annoying blue flea had also sped up and disappeared in an instant.
It stomped its feet in confusion, letting out several angry and unwilling roars. Finally, driven by its instinct to guard its territory, it sullenly returned to the vicinity of the nest, pacing irritably.
In the distance, Li Nanzhu and Duan Xianxing successfully met behind a hidden boulder.
"Junior... Junior Sister... next time... can we use another way..." He panted, out of breath.
Li Nanzhu looked Duan Xianxing over carefully. After confirming he wasn't injured, she smiled again. "Hard work, Senior Brother Seven. The plan was a success."
"So..." Duan Xianxing pulled a long face and looked at Li Nanzhu expectantly. "What kind of flag did we get?"
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